Idyllwild Arts Partners With Pioneering UK-Based Theater Company Stan’s Café to Deliver Thought-Provoking Performance Art
Free Reception February 9 a Highlight of Exhibitition Running February 6-14
The InterArts Department at Idyllwild Arts is pleased to present a special collaboration between
its students and UK-based interactive theater company, Stan’s Cafe. Of All The People in All The
World is an internationally-acclaimed performance installation that turns abstract human
population statistics into emotionally gripping stories using grains of rice. The public is invited
to view Idyllwild Arts’ iteration Of All The People in All The World at a celebratory reception on
Friday, February 9 from 6 to 7.30 pm, featuring InterArts students and Stan’s Café founders,
James Yarker and Graeme Rose. The free event takes place at the Parks Exhibition Gallery
located on Idyllwild Arts’ stunning campus (52500 Temecula Road #38, Idyllwild, CA). The
unique exhibition will also run from February 6 through 14, 2024.
Of All The People In All The World has toured the world since its inception in 2003, landing at
top international venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the World
Financial Center in New York, adapting to the times and contexts in which it is found.
President of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation, Pamela Jordan sais, “We are thrilled to welcome
Stan’s Café to the Idyllwild Arts campus because this collaboration reflects many synergies
between both organizations where the spirit of a Citizen Artist is the focus. This unique
opportunity bolsters our ability to foster creative, innovative, curious, globally minded problem
solvers. I have no doubt that our students will be enriched and inspired by this experience and
Stan’s Café will be inspired by our talented, young artists and mountaintop village.”
The rice is carefully measured to represent human population statistics. These statistics are
drawn from the most reputable sources available. Each grain of rice equals one person and over
a period of days, a team of performers carefully weigh out quantities of rice to represent a host
of human statistics. These statistics are arranged in labeled piles, creating an ever-changing
landscape of rice. Their juxtapositions can be moving, shocking, celebratory, witty and
thought-provoking. That’s it. This installation is that simple—and that elegantly complex.
Since its debut, Of All The People In All The World has used this deceptively straightforward
concept to communicate statistics that are otherwise difficult if not impossible to grasp. After
the performance the rice will be donated to charities and recycled.
Established in 1991 and based in Birmingham UK, Stan’s Cafe is a group of artists from a variety
of disciplines, but mostly theater makers, working under the artistic direction of James Yarker.
The company consists of an evolving team of long-term collaborators and associated artists,
and the lineup changes according to the project being worked upon.
Artistic Director of Stan’s Café, James Yarker said, “We can’t wait to collaborate with the young
creatives at Idyllwild Arts Academy. The students will share with us their vision of the world, we
will teach them how our show works, and together we will research and make a wonderful new
version of Of All The People In All The World.”
For more information, visit: https://www.idyllwildartsgallery.org/of-all-the-people-in-all-the-world
